Photo = YG ENTERTAINMENT

 

The once-slow YG has begun picking up speed. Today (8th), BABYMONSTER released its digital single 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA.' It comes just one month after the release of its 4th mini album 'CHOOM' on the 4th of last month. On the same day, the music video for 'IF I,' the title track of TREASURE’s 4th mini album 'NEW WAV,' surpassed 50 million views one week after its release. The flow being created simultaneously by the two teams under YG ENTERTAINMENT (hereafter YG) can be read as a signal that something is changing at YG right now.

 

YG has long been called “slow.” BLACKPINK was the symbol of that. With the group approaching its 10th anniversary, it has released only two full-length albums and three mini albums. Its 2nd full-length album 'BORN PINK' was released in September 2022, and its next album, the 3rd mini album 'DEADLINE,' was only released in February 2026. That was a gap of three years and five months. Executive Producer YANG HYUNSUK said in August 2025 that he “hopes to release a new album by November at the latest,” but the actual release required another six months of waiting. Regarding TREASURE, he had also pledged to “support the group so that it can release two or more albums every year.” The very existence of that statement itself proves that the previous cycle had not been that way.

 

Photo = YG ENTERTAINMENT

 

The beginning of the change was Executive Producer YANG HYUNSUK’s public declaration. In May last year, YANG said, “Over the past year, we have greatly changed and developed YG’s internal system,” adding, “From the second half of this year, we will show you YG’s upgraded system.” That change is now becoming visible in both teams at the same time. BABYMONSTER presented a roadmap in advance for the sequential release schedule of a digital single and four B-side track music videos at the same time as the release of its 4th mini album. The number of teams commissioned for the title track choreography was expanded unusually from the usual two or three teams to 10 teams, and YANG personally participated in the choreography for the chorus section. The music video for 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA,' released today, surpassed 10 million views on YouTube in about 14 hours and ranked No. 1 on worldwide trending. TREASURE declared a major change with its 4th mini album 'NEW WAV,' which, for the first time since debut, filled all tracks with the hip-hop genre. Its first-ever English title track since debut, 'IF I,' surpassed 50 million views on its music video in six days and nine hours after release, setting the team’s own shortest record.

 

The moves of the two teams are not simply a relay of comebacks. BABYMONSTER is filling the content gap by pulling off completely different concepts at one-month intervals, while TREASURE has directly targeted the global market by changing both its genre and language strategy at the same time. It is also notable that both teams have large-scale world tours scheduled for the second half of this year, meaning that an annual operation plan in which music releases and performance schedules organically align is being realized for the first time.

 

Of course, “fast YG” does not guarantee “good YG.” YG’s method of prioritizing completeness above all else was also the foundation that created one-of-a-kind artists such as BLACKPINK and BIGBANG. Whether YG has the capability to achieve both speed and completeness still needs to be proven. However, the news delivered today from BABYMONSTER and TREASURE can be read as a sign that the first answer to that question is not bad. Expectations are rising as to whether the rest of YG’s 2026 will also be filled at a fast pace, including BIGBANG’s world tour marking its 20th debut anniversary and a new five-member boy group scheduled to debut in September.